Straight bar knitting machine



Jam. 10, 1939. H. w. START ET AL STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1958 Patented Jan. 10, 1939 STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Harry Wilfred Start, Carlton, and Ernest Start,

Wilford, England, assignors to George Blackburn and Sons Limited, Nottingham, England Application April 25, 1938, Serial No. 204,162 In Great Britain December 5, 1936 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in straight-bar knitting machines of the type known as Cottons in which facilities are provided for making complete full fashioned garments on one machine, thereby obviating the necessity for transferring the work from the needles of one machine to those of another machine and in order to obtain this result provision is made for setting back the middle portion of the combined sinker sley and presser, so that knitting can be discontinued in a space in the middle of the needle bar, whilst knitting is continued on the needles outside that space. The presser in this type of knitting machine is formed by the front edge of the lower sinker sley, and in order to set back the middle portion, a corresponding part of the sinker sley must be set back.

The drawback to the present arrangement is, that the effective length of the adjustable section described cannot be varied, and as a result, there is no means of varying the width of the space in which the needles are put out of action, as is required to make hose with insteps of difierent Widths, and the object of the present invention is to provide the required adjustment for this purpose.

According to this invention, the adjustable sinker sley section, is comprised of a main middle portion and a series of short adjustable sections which are disposed at each end of the middle portion, and any number of these short sley sections can be employed to vary the length of the adjustable sley and presser section, and consequently the width of the space in the middle of the needle bar where the needles are put out of action, can be adjusted as is necessary to produce stocking feet with insteps of any requisite width.

The short adjustable sley sections described, may each be equal in length to the space occupied by say two or more needles in the needle bar, and consequently the increase in the number of needles which is put out of action in the said bar by moving each short sley section back, is two or more needles, and any adjustment required is thus rendered possible.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan of a combined sinker sley and presser constructed according to our invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation,

Fig. 3 a cross section taken on the line X X of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 a cross section taken on the line Y Y of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 a front elevation of the combined sinker sley and presser.

Fig. 6 is a plan of part of the sinker sley and presser showing the adjustable section moved back.

drawing.

In carrying out this invention, the fixed main part of the combined sinker sley and presser A, is formed with a recess in the middle of its length to receive an adjustable section, and in the present arrangement this recess is filled in by a middle adjustable section B, and a series of short adjustable sections C disposed at each end of the middle section B. The short adjustable sections C are of the same cross sectional shape as the adjustable middle section B, and all these adjustable sections are held down in the recess in the fixed main part A by means of two longitudinal bars D. These bars D extend from one end to the other of the recess in the fixed main part A, and their ends are secured in recesses in the latter so that the upper faces of these bars D are levelwith the upper face of the fixed main part A, and the upper faces of the adjustable sections B and C disposed in the recess in the said main part A.

These bars D are further disposed in recesses D in the upper faces of the adjustable presser sections B and C, which are wide enough to permit of the latter being moved back the required distance. The transverse tricks for the sinkers, are cut in the upper faces of the fixed part of the sinker sley A, and in the upper faces of both the longitudinal bars D and the adjustable sley sections B and C, as shown at K in Fig. 6, and the tricks in the two longitudinal bars D form an effective support for the sinkers, and prevent the latter from working into the divisions between the adjustable parts B and C and the latter and the fixed main part.

The middle portion B of the adjustable section is adjusted and held in either of its two positions by the same means as previously used for this purpose, while the required number of the short adjustable sections C, which are introduced between the ends of the middle part B and the ends of the recess in which the whole of them are located, are connected to the middle part B so that they can be adjusted with the latter, by the following arrangement.

On the underside of one end of the fixed part of the sinker sley A, is a slide E, and on the underside of the other end is a corresponding slide F. The outer end of the slide F is connected to and longitudinally adjusted by means of a screw 5 Like letters indicate like parts throughout the F while the outer end of the other slide E is connected to and longitudinally adjusted by means of a screw E Connected to the inner ends of each of these slides E and F are keys or splines which engage in grooves or keyways which are carried along the underside of all the adjustable sley and presser sections B and C, and these keys or splines are adapted to lock the short adjustable sections C to the middle adjustable section B or to the fixed main part of the sinker sley A as required.

The inner end of the slide F 'is for instance provided with a key or spline F (see Fig. 3) which extends up through an opening in the fixed main part A and engages in a groove'or keyway which is carried along the underside of all the short adjustable members at this end, and serves to lock them to the fixedmainipart 'A. Disposed in a groove in the middle adjustable member B which registers with the grooves inthe shortmembers C,isakey-orsplineF (see-Fig. l) which is also connected to the slide F by a downwardly extending pin F which engages in a transverse slot F 'in the said slide F. When the slide F is moved to the right, the key or spline F will release theshort sections C in-succession, and those released by this key F will be locked tothe section Bgbythekey or'sp1ine'F which moves with the key or spline F and it thus follows that the short sections C when released from the fixed main part A, will be locked to the adjustable middle portion 'B,-and'that the short sections C which are thus locke'd to the middle part B, can'move back with'the-latter, owing to the pin F in connection with the key .F engaging in .a slot F in the slide F.

Theslide E is in'like manner .provided with a key or spline E and is connected to the other key or spline E in connection with the short adjustable sections C at the other end of the middle part B, by a pin E and a slot E in the slide E and it thus follows' that when the slides E and F are moved outWards,-the short adjustable sections C at each end of the middle portion B, will be released in succession from the fixed main part of the sinker sley A, and connected to the middle part B of the adjustable section, and the'lengthof the adjustable section can thus be conveniently increased, and subsequently-reduced again by reversing the operation.

The slides E and F may be provided with pointers H which are disposed in front of fixed scales J near the adjusting screws E and F and provide convenient means for adjusting the slides E and F in the required positions.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a straight-bar knitting machine, a combined sinker sley and presser consisting of a fixedpart, an adjustable middle section that can be moved back, a series of short adjustable sections at each end of the adjustable middle section, 'slidingkeys which are adapted to connect the short sections in each group to the fixed part, sliding keys -for conecting the short sections in each group to theadjustable middle section and means'for adjusting the two keys associated with each :groupof short sections simultaneously whereby'thelatter can be released from the fixed part and connected to the adjustable middle section and vice versa, substantially as described.

2. In a straight-bar knitting machine, a :combined: sinker sley ancLpresser' consisting of a fixed part, an adjustable middle section, arseries of short adjustable sections at each end of the aid justablemiddle section, slidingkeys for connecting eachgroup of short .sections to'the'fixedpart, sliding keys for-connecting each-group ofshort sections to the adjustable middle v:section, a .slide at'each endrof the fixedspart to which .the two keys in connection with the corresponding group of short sections are connected, and screws for adjusting these slides and the keysilongitudinally whereby the short sections are in succession released from the fixedpart and connected tothe adjustablemiddle section'when the slide is moved in one direction and this operation is reversed when the slide is moved in thereverse direction, substantially as described.

3. In a str-aight-bar'knitting machine, a combined sinker sley and=presser consisting of a fixed part, an adjustable middle section that can'be movedback, a series of short adjustable sections at-each end of'the adjustable middle section and sliding keys in connection with each group'of short sections which are adapted to connect the said sections to either the fixed part or the adjustable middle section as required, substantially as described.

HARRY WILFRED-START. ERNEST START. 

